Airports: Holding Rooms

Baroness Stern: To ask Her Majesty's Government on what date airside passes were issued to members of the North and Midlands Independent Monitoring Boards for the short-term holding centres to enable them to monitor the holding room at Birmingham Airport.

Baroness Neville-Jones: Airside passes were issued to two members of the Independent Monitoring Board on 24 March 2010.

Airports: Holding Rooms

Baroness Stern: To ask Her Majesty's Government for how long the Independent Monitoring Board was in existence before airside passes were issued to its members to enable them to monitor the holding room at Birmingham Airport.

Baroness Neville-Jones: Airside passes were issued by Birmingham Airport to two members of the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) on 24 March 2010. Immigration monitoring boards in immigration removal centres were established some 21 years earlier following an inspection in 1989 of what was at the time the Harmondsworth detention centre. Responsibility for oversight of immigration short-term holding rooms was only extended to the IMB in June 2009 and an inquiry about issue of passes was made to Birmingham Airport by the IMB itself in July 2009.

Airports: Holding Rooms

Baroness Stern: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to introduce closed circuit television recording in the holding room at Manchester Airport in the light of an alleged assault on a detainee there.

Baroness Neville-Jones: The holding room at Manchester Airport has closed circuit television equipment installed which allows for the ongoing monitoring of individuals in detention. The UK Border Agency recognises the potential for improvement and has initiated the process to upgrade the equipment to enable recording. A CCTV supplier has been identified and arrangements for the installation of the necessary new equipment are under way.
	An allegation of assault was referred to the UK Border Agency's Professional Standards Unit for investigation. The unit concluded that the allegation was unsubstantiated.

Aviation: Per-plane Duty

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government what consultation they plan to hold with airports, airlines and passengers on their plans to replace air passenger duty with a per-plane duty.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what account they will take of the reliance of regions other than London, including Northern Ireland, on aviation in considering plans to replace air passenger duty with a per-plane duty.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what account they will take of emissions per flight in considering their plans to replace air passenger duty with a per-plane duty.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they expect an increase in overall tax take from replacing air passenger duty with a per-plane duty.

Lord Sassoon: The Economic Secretary has received a wide range of representations, and met industry representative groups before the Budget.
	The Budget announced that the Government will explore changes to the aviation tax system, including switching from a per-passenger to a per-plane duty, which could encourage fuller planes. Major changes will be subject to consultation.

Bank of England

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the intention announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 16 June for the Bank of England "to work against the cycle rather than with it" in setting capital requirements will (a) require the Bank of England to form views on asset values, including house prices, and (b) lead to rationing of credit, including mortgages.

Lord Sassoon: The Financial Policy Committee that will be created at the Bank of England will have the responsibility to look across the economy at the macroeconomic and financial issues that may threaten stability. It will be given the tools to address the risks it identifies. It will also have the power to require the new Prudential Regulation Authority to implement its directions by taking regulatory action with respect to all firms.
	As stated by the Chancellor on 16 June, the Government will consult widely on these issues.

Bank of England

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Financial Policy Committee of the Bank of England will have (a) access to the papers and meetings of the Monetary Policy Committee, and (b) the opportunity to make representations when it believes that changes in the cost or availability of credit are necessary in order to maintain financial stability.

Lord Sassoon: The Government will set out more detail on the Financial Policy Committee, including its interaction with the Monetary Policy Committee, in a consultation document to be published before the Summer Recess.

Bank of England

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government what will be the mechanism for resolving disagreements between the Monetary Policy Committee and the Financial Policy Committee of the Bank of England on the level of interest rates; and whether the Governor of the Bank will have the final say.

Lord Sassoon: The Chancellor confirmed in the Budget that the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will continue to target 2 per cent inflation, as measured by the 12-month increase in the consumer prices index. The MPC will continue to decide the appropriate level of bank rate in order to meet this target. As the Financial Secretary said in his parliamentary Statement on 17 June, the Financial Policy Committee will be given macroprudential tools to address the risks it identifies when looking across the economy at the macroeconomic and financial issues that may threaten financial stability. The Government will conduct a full and comprehensive consultation process and publish a detailed policy document for public consultation before the Summer Recess.

Elections

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether qualifying Commonwealth citizens given visas granting them leave to enter the United Kingdom will on entry continue to be immediately eligible to register to vote in Westminster elections.

Lord McNally: Under the Representation of People Act 1983, British and Irish citizens are entitled to register to vote in Westminster elections. Commonwealth citizens can also register to vote, if they qualify to do so. A qualifying Commonwealth citizen is an individual who has leave to enter or remain in the UK or does not require such leave.
	This is, however, only one aspect of entitlement to be registered to vote. In order for an electoral registration officer to add a qualifying Commonwealth citizen to the electoral register, it must appear to the electoral registration officer that he or she is resident in that constituency.

Embryology

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the comments by Dr Robin Lovell-Badge at the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority annual conference in 2008 about scientists' plans for human admixed embryos.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have issued guidance on whether the word "animal" in the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 should be interpreted by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) as including bacteria and plants, as proposed by Dr Robin Lovell-Badge at the HFEA annual conference in 2008; in what capacity Dr Lovell-Badge has advised the HFEA on interspecies embryos; and when the HFEA was briefed by Dr Lovell-Badge on possible means of creating true hybrids between humans and plants or applications with genetically modified human embryos.

Earl Howe: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has advised that it has not issued guidance on the interpretation of the word "animal" in the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008. Dr Lovell-Badge was one of a number of scientists who was a member of the HFEA's Scientific and Clinical Advances Group (SCAG). SCAG collectively gave advice to the HFEA on human-admixed embryos. Dr Lovell-Badge was among those interviewed during the HFEA's consultation on hybrids and chimeras. The HFEA has not been briefed by Dr Lovell-Badge in an individual capacity on any issue.
	No assessment has been made by the Government of the comment made by Dr Lovell-Badge at the 2008 HFEA annual conference. Decisions on whether a licence should be granted to enable research involving the creation and use of human admixed embryos is a matter for the HFEA's research licence committee.

Embryology

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government when the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) first considered concerns about a link between IVF and congenital syndromes to be "a serious issue", as quoted in the Sunday Times on 13 June; how the HFEA will ensure that people seeking fertility treatment are "made fully aware" of any such link; and why the HFEA viewed the research as "very significant".
	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority considered the concerns about a link between IVF and congenital syndromes described in academic papers in the Journal of Medical Genetics (volume 40, issue 1, pages 62-4) and the American Journal of Human Genetics (volume 71, issue 1, pages 162-4; volume 72, issue 1, pages 156-60; volume 72, issue 1, pages 218-19; volume 72, issue 5, pages 1338-41 and volume 75, issue 3, pages 526-8); and, if so, what conclusions they reached.

Earl Howe: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has advised that it has always seen part of its role as ensuring that patients are well informed about the treatment they intend to undergo, in line with its obligations under Section 8 of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990, as amended. Clinical risks are included in this. As research has improved understanding, the HFEA has developed requirements for centres to advise patients about risks associated with their treatment. The research referred to was viewed as significant in that it is based on a large prospective study and its findings align with other research in this area.
	The HFEA has also advised that it is not in a position to comment on individual research papers within a large body of literature. The authority relies on the clinical expertise of the members of its Scientific and Clinical Advances Advisory Committee to ensure it is has the latest understanding of research developments.

Embryology

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 15 June (WA 100), why the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) does not hold information on the number of embryos used for the specific purpose of deriving embryonic stem cells; whether the purpose of deriving embryonic stem cells is recorded in any HFEA research licences; whether directions issued by the HFEA require licence holders to maintain records on total numbers of embryos created, used or disposed of in undertaking licensed research; and, if so, how many human embryos or cybrid embryos have been used under each research licence awarded for the purpose of deriving embryonic stem cells.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Thornton on 6 April (WA 393), what was the intended ultimate use of stem cell lines created by cell nuclear replacement with nuclei from a patient with type 1 diabetes as described in applications for research licence R0152 received by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority prior to 16 March 2005; how that usage was justified at the time; and whether the activities currently covered by research licence R0152 exclude any projected use of cell nuclear replacement in human reproduction (as distinct from the derivation of stem cell lines).
	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority licence R0152 allows the requesting of skin from children for the activities authorised by that licence; and why the purpose of that practice could not be fulfilled by the use of a novel feeder cell system as described in the journal Stem Cells (volume 23, issue 3, pages 306-14).

Earl Howe: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has advised that it holds information on the number of embryos used in licensed research projects. These projects often have several objectives; the HFEA does not hold information on the number of embryos used for each objective. The purpose of deriving human embryonic stem cells is recorded on HFEA research licences. The HFEA has issued a General Direction 0002 requiring centres to maintain a record, in any format, of the total number of embryos created, used or disposed of during a project of research.
	The HFEA has advised that it will take a significant amount of time to compile the information requested by the noble Lord, relating to number of embryos used under each research licence for the purpose of deriving embryonic stem cells. Therefore, I have asked the authority's chief executive to endeavour to complete this work within 20 working days and I will write to the noble Lord as soon as I receive the information and place a copy of my letter in the Library.
	The HFEA has advised that the intended aim of deriving stem cells from embryos created using the nuclei from a patient with type 1 diabetes in research licence R0152 was to improve treatment of this disease. The authority's Licence Committee decided, in March 2005, that this objective falls under the following research purpose, as set out in the Human Fertilisation and Embryology (Research Purposes) Regulations 2001: Regulation 2(2)(c), "enabling any such knowledge to be applied in developing treatments for serious disease". The use of embryos created by somatic cell nuclear transfer for treatment purposes is unlawful in the United Kingdom.
	The HFEA has advised that it has not authorised the use of cells obtained from children in licensed research project number R0152.

Energy: Carbon Tax

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their stance on a European Union-wide carbon tax; and whether they will use their veto to prevent its introduction.

Lord Sassoon: The Government see no case for changes to the current structure of the energy products directive.

Energy: Nuclear Reactors

Lord Jenkin of Roding: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they expect the generic design assessment process for new nuclear reactors to be completed by June 2011; and, if not, what is the equivalent date for the issue of design acceptance certificates by the Health and Safety Executive.

Lord Marland: The UK's nuclear regulators (the HSE and the Environment Agency) have assured me that, as they have previously stated, June 2011 will mark the end of their assessment of the safety and environmental submissions for the designs currently undergoing generic design assessment (GDA).
	If, at that point, the regulators are satisfied with the design safety case and environmental submission provided by the GDA requesting parties, then they will issue an HSE design acceptance confirmation (DAC) and an Environment Agency statement of design acceptability (SoDA) and call a formal end to the overall GDA process.
	If, however, there remain a number of significant unresolved issues that the regulators were confident could be resolved, then they may decide to provide an interim DAC or SoDA. In this case, resolution plans for such issues would need to have been developed by the requesting parties and agreed with the regulators. Once all the issues contained within these resolution plans had been addressed to the satisfaction of the regulators, then the overall GDA process would be brought to an end. The timing of this would depend upon the number and substance of any remaining issues together with industry's work to implement any resolution plans.
	The change to this process, which is based on resolving concerns raised in discussions between the regulators and stakeholders, is designed to add further clarity and certainty to the overall site licensing and permitting processes.
	Further guidance on the management of GDA outcomes has recently been published by the regulators and can be found on the internet at: http://www.hse. gov.uk/newreactors/reports/management-gda-outcomes.pdf.

EU: Benefits

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government what are their plans for publicising the availability of contribution-paid benefits anywhere in the European Union to those who have contributed in their own member state.

Lord Freud: Advice on the EU social security co-ordinating rules is publicised on the Directgov and Department for Work and Pensions websites; and is also available within the Department for Work and Pensions from the International Pensions Centre. Further advice is available on the websites of our embassies in a number of EU member states. We have also contributed to the European Commission website, which has extensive information on social security for migrant workers and other EU citizens.

Government Departments: Female Staff

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether the Foreign and Commonwealth Office have experienced any problems relating to policy and action as a result of having no female ministers.

Lord Freud: The information requested could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Government: Big Society

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Statement by Baroness Warsi on 16 June (Official Report, col. 1054) saying that they will "launch a big society bank using funds from dormant bank accounts", how much money is estimated to be in such accounts; what criteria will be used to decide eligibility for funding; and to whom applications for funding will be submitted.

Lord Sassoon: The British Bankers' Association and Building Societies Association estimate that there is currently around £400 million in dormant bank and building society accounts in the UK. However, it is difficult to predict the precise amount that will be available for distribution given that this will depend on the success of the ongoing campaign to reunite individuals with their assets, and the sums held back for future customer reclaim. The Dormant Bank and Building Society Accounts Act 2008 defines a number of possible spending priorities for England. The Government will set out details of how they will direct funds in due course.

Health: Doctors

Lord Marlesford: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many doctors who did not qualify in the United Kingdom are registered to practise medicine in the UK; and from which countries medical qualifications are accepted for practice in the UK.

Earl Howe: This information is not held by the department. The General Medical Council (GMC) holds data on the number of doctors who are registered to practise medicine in the United Kingdom. This information can be obtained directly from the GMC.
	The 2009 medical and staff (England) census by the Information Centre shows that 8,208 (including 1,723 GPs) staff qualified within the European economic area (EEA) and 34,975 (including 6,263 GPs) qualified outside the EEA are employed within the National Health Service.

Health: Transplants

Lord Marlesford: To ask Her Majesty's Government which hospitals are equipped, staffed and qualified to carry out liver transplants; and how many transplants were carried out by each hospital in the past year.

Earl Howe: There are seven centres in the United Kingdom designated for liver transplantation. These are commissioned by the National Commissioning Group (NCG) and the Scottish Government's Health Services Division.
	Paediatric liver transplantation is done at the Children's Hospital, Birmingham, as well at St James's, Leeds, and King's College Hospital.
	The hospitals are:
	Freeman Hospital, Newcastle;
	St James's University Hospital, Leeds;Addenbrookes Hospital, Cambridge;Royal Free Hospital, London;King's College Hospital, London;Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham (and Children's Hospital); andRoyal Infirmary at Edinburgh.
	The number of transplants from deceased donors is shown in the following table.
	
		
			 UK liver (deceased and domino*) transplants in from 1 April 2009-31 March 2010 
			  Liver Only Liver and Kidney Liver and Pancreas Lung and Liver Total 
			 Newcastle 32 1 0 1 34 
			 Leeds 96 1 0 0 97 
			 Cambridge 69 1 1 0 71 
			 Royal Free 61 0 0 0 61 
			 King's 188 5 1 0 194 
			 Birmingham 147 6 3 0 156 
			 Edinburgh 73 1 0 0 74 
			 Total 666 15 5 1 687 
		
	
	Notes:
	Figures correct as of 18 June 2010
	* Domino liver transplants occur when the liver, viable in the short term, from a patient receiving a liver transplant is transplanted into another desperately ill patient.

Health: Transplants

Lord Marlesford: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many patients are on the waiting list for liver transplants; what is the average time that a patient has to wait before a liver becomes available; and what proportion of patients on the waiting list die before they receive a transplant.

Earl Howe: The number of people on the waiting list and median waiting time is shown in the following tables. There is a super-urgent category for those individuals with acute liver failure who are expected to live less than 48 hours unless they receive a liver transplant.
	At any point in time, there are between nought and two people on this list and the majority of these receive a transplant due to their super-urgency status.
	
		
			 Number of patients registered for a liver transplant as at 17 June 2010 
			  Active1 Suspended 2 Total 
			 Liver 373 14 387 
			 Kidney/Liver 20 1 21 
			 Pancreas/Liver 6 0 6 
			 Liver/Heart 1 0 1 
			 Total 400 15 415 
		
	
	Notes:
	1 Active means that when an organ becomes available, the patient is included among those who are matched against the donor to determine whether the organ is suitable.
	2 Suspended means the patient has been temporarily removed from the waiting list, for reasons ranging from being away on holiday to being too ill to undergo the operation.
	
		
			 Average (median) waiting times to transplant-in days 
			 Organ Adults Paediatric 
			 Liver 149 86 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Based on patient elective registrations in the United Kingdom, 1 Apr 2006-31 Mar 2009
	2. Figures correct as of 18 June 2010.
	3. 11.5 per cent of people listed in 2005-07 in the UK for a liver transplant died while listed.

Health: Transplants

Lord Marlesford: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the average survival period for patients who have had liver transplants in the United Kingdom; and how that compares with other European Union countries and the United States.

Earl Howe: The survival of patients after transplant is shown in the following table
	
		
			 Long-term patient survival after first elective adult deceased heartbeating donor liver only transplant in the UK, 1 January 1995 - 31 December 2007 
			   % Patient survival (95% confidence interval) 
			 Year of transplant No. at risk on day 0 One year Two year Five year Ten year 
			 1995-1997 113259 (56-62) 
			 1998-2000 1206   71 (69-74)  
			 2001-2003 1205  85 (83-87)   
			 2004-2007 1489 90 (88-91)
		
	
	At present, there are few analyses comparing risk-adjusted outcomes of patients transplanted in the United Kingdom with those in continental Europe and the United States. One study (Dawwas et al, Gut 2007) found that risk-adjusted survival at one year was higher in the UK and Ireland than in the US for adults with chronic liver disease but there was no difference in those with acute liver failure. Smaller and informal comparisons suggest that risk-adjusted outcomes are certainly no worse in the UK compared with other countries.

Health: Transplants

Lord Marlesford: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people are registered as potential donors for liver transplants; and what steps they will take to increase the availability of livers for transplants.

Earl Howe: Approximately 15.7 million people currently on the Organ Donor Register (ODR) have registered their wish to donate their liver for transplant after their death. However, it should be noted that many people who have donated their liver were not registered on the ODR at the time of donation so this figure (of the 17.1 million on the register) is likely to be an underestimate of potential liver donors in the United Kingdom.
	Her Majesty's Government are actively supporting work to identify more donors for transplant, strengthen donor co-ordination and retrieval arrangements. Our aim is to enable many more people to benefit from an organ transplant.

Immigration: Deportation

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Neville-Jones on 7 June (WA 13), whether they will consider changing the UK Border Agency's criteria for deporting foreign national offenders to include a conviction and sentence of any length for a terrorist offence.

Baroness Neville-Jones: It is already the case that the UK Border Agency will seek to deport any foreign national who represents a threat to our national security, whether or not the individual concerned has been convicted of a criminal offence.
	If they do not pose a threat to national security, but have nevertheless been convicted of a terrorist offence, the existing position is that the length of sentence should continue to determine whether or not deportation action should be pursued.

Independent Commission on Banking

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether Sir John Vickers and the Independent Commission on Banking will be able to produce interim reports before the publication of their final report if he or the commission believe that will inform markets and Government policy making.

Lord Sassoon: The commission on banking has been asked to investigate complex issues. We understand that this will take time to get right and the commission has been asked to produce a final report by the end of September 2011. It will be for the commissioners to determine whether the commission will produce interim reports.

Independent Commission on Banking

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Independent Commission on Banking will have its own budget; if so, how much has been allocated; and whether it will have a secretariat separate from HM Treasury, the Bank of England and the Financial Services Authority.

Lord Sassoon: The commission will have its own secretariat and such resources as are necessary to complete its task.

National Gulf Veterans and Families Association

Lord Morris of Manchester: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Taylor of Holbeach on 17 June (WA 131-2), whether they will place the letter to the Deputy Prime Minister received on 13 May from Shaun Rusling of the National Gulf Veterans and Families Association and the reply to him in the Library of the House.

Lord Astor of Hever: My officials have contacted Mr Rusling to obtain his permission to disclose his letter to third parties. Should he give his consent we will place a copy in the Library of the House.

National Gulf Veterans and Families Association

Lord Morris of Manchester: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Taylor of Holbeach on 17 June (WA 131-2), why the letter and enclosure from Shaun Rusling of the National Gulf Veterans and Families Association received by the Deputy Prime Minister on 13 May about his pre-election pledges of support for new help for Gulf veterans have been sent to a Defence Minister for reply.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: As the Ministry of Defence is responsible for the matters relating to Gulf War veterans raised by Mr Rusling and has the latest information on the subject, the Deputy Prime Minister asked the department to reply on behalf of the Government.

Police: Stop and Search

Lord Ouseley: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many police stop and searches of each racial or ethnic group in the past three years led to arrests, charges and prosecutions.

Baroness Neville-Jones: Current and historical data on stops and searches and arrests as a result of stops and searches by ethnicity are published in chapter 3 of the Ministry of Justice publication Statistics on Race and the Criminal Justice System 2008-09: A Ministry of Justice Publication under Section 95 of the Criminal Justice Act 1991. More detailed data are also provided within the supplementary tables relating to chapter 3.
	The publication is available in the Library of the House. An online link is however provided for the Member's convenience, both to the publication and to the ministry's race and criminal justice webpage.
	Data on those charged and prosecuted resulting from stop-and-search activities are not available centrally, but prosecution data, by ethnic breakdown, are available in chapter 4 of the statistics on race in the CJS publication.
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/docs/stats-race-and-the-criminal-justice-system-2008-09c1.pdf.
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/raceandcjs.htm.

Prisoners: Voting

Lord Tebbit: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Answer by Lord McNally on 9 June (Official Report, col. 643), how they have ascertained the views of the general public on whether to allow prisoners to vote.

Lord McNally: The Government have not undertaken any formal exercise to gather or gauge the views of the general public on this matter. We are considering afresh the best way forward on the issue of prisoner voting rights.

Taxation: VAT

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government on what goods and services VAT is charged.

Lord Sassoon: VAT is chargeable on all goods and services supplied in the UK by a taxable person for a consideration in the course of business, unless they are covered by exemptions or the zero rate.
	HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) publishes detailed guidance on the goods and services to which VAT applies at: www.hmrc.gov.uk/vat/managing/charging/charging.htm.

Unemployment

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, in light of the rise in unemployment predicted in the Budget, they intend to follow the statement of the previous Prime Minister about "British jobs for British workers".

Lord Freud: The Government will be taking action to reduce net migration from the hundreds of thousands it has been in recent years to the tens of thousands it used to be. A consultation process on the implementation of an annual limit on the number of non-EU migrants who come to the UK to work is currently under way.
	We are committed to tackling the nearly 5 million people claiming one of the main out-of-work benefits, by reforming welfare and ensuring resident workers have the skills, attributes and help they need to be able to take up work.

Vehicles: Automatic Plate Recognition

Lord Corbett of Castle Vale: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will request a report from the Chief Constable of the West Midlands on why there was no formal consultation on the placing of 169 automatic number-plate recognition cameras in the Washwood Heath, Sparkbrook, Moseley and Kings Heath areas of Birmingham as part of a counter-terrorism initiative.

Baroness Neville-Jones: Consultation took place between West Midlands Police, Safer Birmingham Partnership and local authorities during the development of Project Champion, including with locally elected representatives.
	However, following concerns raised at recent public meetings, Safer Birmingham Partnership, West Midlands Police and Birmingham City Council have acknowledged shortcomings with the consultation procedure and have agreed that a full and in-depth public consultation into the implementation of Project Champion is to take place.
	This is primarily a local police operational matter. However, work is under way on CCTV regulation and the Government will be bringing forward proposals shortly.